1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an automatic noodle making machine. More particularly, the present invention relates to improvement of a mechanism for mounting and dismounting a mixer in a noodle making machine for automatically producing a noodle such as "wheat vermicelli", "buck-wheat vermicelli", "Chinese vermicelli" or the like.
2. Background Art
A conventional noodle making machine of the foregoing type is constructed as disclosed in an official gazette of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication NO. 3-201956 filed by a common applicant to the present invention.
According to this prior invention, the noodle making machine is equipped with a flour kneading unit for preparing a scrambled egg-shaped noodle base by kneading flour in the presence of kneading water in a mixer. The mixer includes as essential components a kneading member and a cylinder in which the kneading member is removably received. The opposite ends of the mixer are rotatably supported in the clamped state by a stationary support arm and a movable support arm both of which are arranged below the ceiling plate of a housing for the noodle making machine. In other words, the mixer is held in a suspended state by supporting rotary members rotatably disposed in the stationary support arm and the movable support arm in such a manner as to rotate about rotary center axes at the opposite ends of the kneading member.
With the conventional mechanism for mounting and dismounting the mixer constructed in the above-described manner, since only the cylinder is removably supported but the kneading member can not be dismounted from the mixer, when the cylinder is to be dismounted from the mixer or when the kneading member is to be cleaned using water, there arises a problem in that noodle base remaining in the cylinder as well as noodle base adhering to the kneading member are scattered away from the cylinder and the kneading member and fall down in the interior of the noodle making machine and/or on the floor surface.
In addition, since a quantitative flour feeding unit including a hopper having flour stored therein is mounted on the ceiling plate of the housing for the noodle making machine, the ceiling plate is liable to deflect, causing the center axes of the rotary members disposed in the stationary support arm and the movable support arm to be displaced away from the original correct positions, resulting in a load to be borne by the rotary members being undesirably increased.
In case that the mixer is mounted in the flour kneading unit by displacing the movable support arm, since a fixing knob is tightened with the operator's one hand while thrusting the movable support arm to the mixer side with the operator's other hand, a mixer mounting operation should be performed with operator's both hands. Thus, a mixer mounting/dismounting operation is troublesome and time-consuming. Further, when the mixer is mounted in the flour kneading unit at a reduced accuracy, the rotation center axes of the rotary members are dislocated away from the original correct positions, causing the kneading member to vibrated as it is rotated. Consequently, the power generated by a driving motor can not smoothly be transmitted to the kneading member.
According to the aforementioned prior invention, since mounting/dismounting of the cylinder as well as cleaning of milling rollers for milling noodle base to prepare noodle band are achieved from the front side (fore surface side) of the noodle making machine, while cleaning of the kneading member and other units in the noodle making machine is achieved from the side wall side (right-hand side wall side) of the noodle producing machine, there arises a problem that the noodle making machine itself is installed at a certain location with much restrictions, resulting in the noodle producing machine being practically used with much inconveniences.